Abstract
The apparent increase in marine morbidity and mass mortality events, the emergence
of new diseases across a range of taxa, increases in harmful algal blooms,
and the longterm and often unexplained declines of various wildlife populations
have heightened concern and debate over human impacts on the marine environment.
Resolving the relative extent to which natural and anthropogenic factors drive
marine major disturbance events is becoming increasingly important as public
health, economic activity, and biodiversity are threatened along various coastal
regions. Understanding environmental change within the context of highly complex
systems has proven to be difficult, and thus increased scientific focus on
large-scale marine disturbances along with more precautionary approaches in
managing human activity are warranted.